


Weathering the Storm

by makesometime



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Mass Effect Kink Meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2013-09-26
Packaged: 2017-12-27 16:14:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/980988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makesometime/pseuds/makesometime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Fill for a prompt at the Mass Effect Kink Meme:</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>F!Shepard is understandably distraught before the final assault on the Reapers: She's readied herself for this since Sovereign, lost many good friends and allies along the way and endured it, pushing on like a soldier that she is, but on the very last evening, it all comes crashing down. </p>
  <p>What if the Crucible won't work?<br/>What if more of her friends or her LI shall die?<br/>What if she dies?<br/>Or anything else that you can add to the list. </p>
  <p>And in order to calm her and have one last night before dashing into a possible death, her LI treats Shep with lots of caresses and/or foreplay and tender!sexytimes.</p>
</blockquote>
    </blockquote>





	Weathering the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for a prompt at the Mass Effect Kink Meme:
>
>> F!Shepard is understandably distraught before the final assault on the Reapers: She's readied herself for this since Sovereign, lost many good friends and allies along the way and endured it, pushing on like a soldier that she is, but on the very last evening, it all comes crashing down. 
>> 
>> What if the Crucible won't work?  
> What if more of her friends or her LI shall die?  
> What if she dies?  
> Or anything else that you can add to the list. 
>> 
>> And in order to calm her and have one last night before dashing into a possible death, her LI treats Shep with lots of caresses and/or foreplay and tender!sexytimes.

"Shepard?"   
  
The doors to the Captain's quarters shut behind him with a hiss, the lock activating and adding a red tinge to the always-eerie blue light flooding the upper part of the room. Zaeed took a couple of steps forward, booted feet making an angry clang on the metallic floor, the noise echoing through through the apparently deserted space.  
  
"Zaeed?"  
  
The call was so quiet at first that he almost didn't pick it up, goddamn hearing not what it used to be after years of being on the wrong end of flashbang grenade strikes. He moved further into the room until he could see through the display cabinet to the couch beyond, picking out the faint shine of blue light on hair as the woman seated there struggled to her feet.  
  
"What are you doing here?" She asked, voice louder now but still unsteady, almost watery as if...   
  
 _Shit._  
  
He'd take on a charging Krogan quicker than a crying woman. Especially when that woman was Commander Fucking Shepard.   
  
"Vakarian." He said unhelpfully, not quite sure how to approach the explanation. "Told me to get here. I... found a way."   
  
He watched as Shepard rounded the corner to appear at the bottom of the stairs, saw how she surreptitiously rubbed the cuff of that damn hoodie under both eyes.   
  
"You didn't have to do that."  
  
"'Course I didn't." He said, two more steps taking him to the crest of the stairs. "Fucking glad I did."   
  
Her eyes narrowed on him. "This isn't your problem Massani."   
  
"Bullshit." He cursed immediately, offended by the mere suggestion.   
  
"I've got it handled." She said, words forced through gritted teeth.   
  
Close up, he could see the darkness rimming her glowing eyes, the angry marks of her scars a dull red in her sallow face. She looked exhausted, worn down to the bone. Beautiful, still. Achingly so. But the sight of her like this made him angry. At himself, at her, at the whole goddamn universe.   
  
"Could've fooled me." He returned, his irritation making it easy to return to baiting, to needling this woman. How it used to be back in the good old days.   
  
"Fuck you." She spat, naked fury in her gaze as she rushed up the steps to stand in front of him, pulling her arm back and punching him square in the stomach with every last bit of force that she would allow herself to use on him.  
  
Zaeed coughed heavily as he stumbled back, falling into the wall of the bathroom. Shepard kept coming, flexing her hands as he thanked his lucky stars for the lack of a coppery taste in his mouth and the fact that he’d done enough over the years to convince her that he wasn’t a worthy target (and yet he still found himself wishing for his armor).   
  
"Fuck. You." She repeated, drawing back for another punch that he just managed to catch, his hand curling over her fist as his arm shook slightly through effort. Her other hand moved to compensate but he caught that too, tugging both hands down to press against his chest.   
  
Shepard struggled halfheartedly as his palms wrapped hard around her wrists and he pulled himself upright, gaining the upper hand with his superior size. The fight left her with every passing second, the woman's face twisting in anguish as her earlier emotions melted through the rage. Zaeed watched her silently, waiting for the break, waiting...   
  
"Zaeed..." She whispered, biting her lip so hard he could see the skin whiten.   
  
"C’mere." He murmured. "I’ve got you."  
  
Her forehead fell to his chest and then the sobs started in earnest, her whole body shaking with the force of her tears. His arms came around her like it was the most natural thing in the world, holding her to him through the pain.

 

#

 

"This is fucking ridiculous."  
  
Zaeed heard Shepard's murmur and pulled back from resting his cheek against the top of her head, letting her lean back into the arm of the couch.  
  
"Gotta give me a bit more, love." He said when she didn't speak further, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Helluva lot of options to choose from."  
  
Shepard snorted at this, looking down the length of her body with a sceptical expression, noting the way she was seated in his lap, his arms firm around her waist. "Didn't think you were a snuggler Massani."  
  
"Likewise Shepard." He said, easing his grip around her in case she wanted to move away. When she remained in place he fought a smile, reminded himself who exactly he was and returned to impassively watching her as she lapsed into thought once more.   
  
The silence was oddly calming, certainly more so than listening to the savior of the universe struggling for breath through tears for near enough half an hour. But there was only so much he could take without explanation, without reason for why Vakarian would call him here.  
  
"You gonna share what's going on in that thick head of yours?"  
  
She came back to herself with a deep breath, snapping out whatever daze she'd slipped into. A palm swiped over her face before knitting back with her other, clasped hands resting in her lap. "We take Earth tomorrow."  
  
It took a hell of a lot to make his blood run cold now. The little he hadn't seen or done rarely warranted any kind of reaction at all. But he felt chilled to his tiny black heart at those four words, shocked and maybe a little offended that she hadn't kept him in the loop. He'd heard whispers and rumors, sure. Some suggestions of their last best chance. But nothing from this woman in weeks.  
  
"What if it doesn't work?" She asked, half to him, half to the room. "So many people have given their lives for this. So many  _good_  people. And here I am, still kicking." She sighed, staring down at her hands. "It all comes down to me."  
  
"Nobody else I'd rather have saving my ass." Zaeed said, squeezing her knee, touch lingering a moment too long. It was easy enough to recognise that now wasn't the time for petty jealousy; there was every chance she'd been too bloody busy to sit down and give someone like him the particulars of the plan.  
  
Shepard sighed and turned into him, resting her temple against his shoulder. "And the collective asses of the entire universe."  
  
He paused then shrugged. "Don't care so much for them." He turned his head and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I've got faith in you girl."  
  
"More people are going to die." She said, voice dull and hopeless. Defeated, the tone so goddamn wrong.  
  
"Probably." Zaeed said, and she looked up at him in confusion. "What? Want me to sugar coat it? No damn point."  
  
She cast her eyes back down at this, understanding his point even if she didn't like its truth.   
  
"Hell. I… I might die." The hitch in her voice was unmistakable, as if this was the first time she'd admitted such thoughts to herself. Knowing her, it probably was.  
  
A reply to this wasn't so forthcoming. The odds were stacked against her, against the whole damn lot of them. But Shepard had led the Normandy back from a suicide mission once already. If anyone could do it...   
  
"Don't count yourself out yet."   
  
He saw the corners of her mouth pull up slightly. "Thank you." She responded quietly, lifting a hand up to fist in the front of his shirt. "Promise me you'll be safe during all this. Keep your head down and help out only if it's absolutely necessary. I can't do this if I'm worrying about you as well."   
  
"Aw Shepard. You'd worry about little old me?"  
  
Her scowl was as instantaneous as her earlier smile as her grip tightened, pulling him closer. " _Promise me_."   
  
Zaeed nodded, a sharp jerk of his head. "I promise, Shepard."

Shepard matched his affirmation and tugged him in for a harsh kiss, nipping at his lip when he groaned into her mouth. When she pulled back and let out a ragged breath that had nothing to do with the force of their kiss, he sighed and reached to cradle the back of her head.   
  
"When did you last sleep?" He chuckled when hesitated to answer, squeezing his fingers over her scalp. "If you're thinking about lying, don't bother."   
  
"I sleep." She said, gaze fixed back on her hands. It was odd to see her so evasive. "Just... not well."  
  
It took him a bit to fix on why she wasn't being honest. When it hit him he winced, letting his hand fall to the arm of the couch. "Tell me it ain't been since the night of the party."  
  
Shepard wriggled out of his lap and came to her feet, a weary hand passing through her hair as she paced away from him, an arm wrapped around her stomach. She paused and looked down at him with a wry smile. "You know I don't sleep well on my own."  
  
A smirk of pure male pride formed before he could stop it and he stood to join her, hands curling possessively over her hips. "Do you  _need_  me, Commander?   
  
She tilted her head to the side and screwed up her nose for a moment. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"  
  
"I'd like a lot of things." Zaeed said, walking her back to the bed. The back of her legs hit the mattress but she didn't fall into its support, remaining defiantly on her feet. "But you need to rest."  
  
Shepard's arms looped around his neck, pulling herself flush with his chest as she grinned a wicked grin that told him sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. "I need something alright."  
  
Zaeed huffed out a laugh, enjoying the feel of her so near once more, feeling himself react to her proximity, the warmth of her body pressing into his. "And you call _me_  a dirty old man."   
  
Shepard pouted prettily, an odd expression in a striking face. "Don't make me beg, Massani."   
  
Zaeed growled, hands cupping her arse and pulling her in tight. "But you're such a sight when you do."   
  
" _Zaeed_..."  
  
He tutted, squeezing her. "Nothing else from that pretty little mouth of yours now, hmm?"  
  
To stop the precocious retort he knew would follow, Zaeed pressed his lips hard against her own once more. Their kiss was sweet, deep and searching as he started at the zipper of her pants, the heavy material parting easily and falling to the floor when he pushed it from her hips. Shepard toed off her already unlaced boots and stepped out of the pool of material, kicking it to the side.   
  
She gave a little jump and Zaeed caught her up, hands finding their way back to her arse as she wrapped her long long legs around him. He groaned when they caught together below his backside, stroking his hands down her thighs. God, he loved her legs. Firm and strong, so damn good wrapped around him. Shepard took his face in her hands and brought their mouths back together, moaning into his kiss as she rocked against him searchingly.   
  
He smiled against her lips, moving until he could put one knee up on the mattress. Reluctantly moving a hand away from her skin to brake their descent, he laid her down without any need for them to part. Her legs tightened when he started to pull away, wanting him close, but she was still wearing too damn much for that. Zaeed reached behind himself and took a hold of her ankles, placing each foot on the bed so that he was cradled between her thighs. A quick squeeze and she knew to keep them there, watching intently for his next move.   
  
The bleedin' hoodie was the first thing to go, tossed behind him as soon as her arms were free of it. He then started to bunch up her tank, pressing kisses to her stomach as each new inch of skin was revealed. Her hands curled over his shoulders, short nails digging in through his shirt as he approached the underside of her breasts; she lifted up to help him tug away her top and then settled back to let him look at her.

His hands covered her breasts with a faint laugh and he started to knead them softly, just how she liked.   
  
"What?" She asked, arching up into his touch.   
  
"Can't get over this being Alliance issue." He said, plucking at the lacy top of one cup.  
  
Shepard grinned, putting her hands over his. "I don't know what they were thinking."  
  
"S'pretty." He murmured, leaning in to kiss her. Against her lips he spoke again, "But it's gotta go."  
  
He reached behind her to unfasten the strap and quickly pulled the lace from her body. His hands immediately covered her again, tweaking and squeezing until she was softly panting, her head fallen back into the covers. When he leaned down to lick a line from the curve of one breast to her nipple, Shepard gasped, hands cradling his head once more, not too gently forcing him to linger, sucking and nipping at each breast in turn.   
  
He'd missed this, the chance to take his time with her. Their encounters were normally so charged, so hurried; moments like this were damn special. Shepard was a naturally impatient woman but even she sensed the need to take it slow, cherish the moment - their last time together had been a stolen moment in the locker room of the combat simulator, ten feet from being caught. A little tenderness was warranted, he figured, even from someone like himself. Lucky this woman agreed.   
  
His hand flexed at her waist before skating downwards, fingertips slipping under the waistband of her underwear. She whined and shifted her hips, inviting him further, a decision he'd long since made. He moved his lower body to the side, his erection pressing into her thigh as his hand moved to cup her heat, fingers tapping gently but not parting her folds. He smirked when she bucked her hips, a halfway involuntary movement. He advanced one finger and his amusement turned to a growl of arousal, feeling her slick heat envelope his digit. He stroked the length of her once, toying with her entrance and then pressing hard at her clit.   
  
Her panting turned to encouraging moans and whimpers as he moved a second finger along the length of her core, gathering wetness and teasing over spots that he knew gave her pleasure. Her nails scratched down his back, catching on his shirt and then dragging it up to allow her to dig her nails into his lower back, a sharp ache that drew him into a few thrusts against her leg. He reluctantly pulled away when she tugged his shirt up and off, covering her body with his own once she was smiling triumphantly at the sight of him. Her breasts were warm against his chest, her pebbled nipples hard and insistent as he kissed her again, easing two fingers into her core.   
  
His fingertips stroked, callused from years of gun use, searching for the reaction he wanted. When he found the right spot Shepard tensed, her breath catching in a garbled shout of pleasure as her hands flew to clutch at his biceps. He twisted his hand, lips passing down along her strong jaw, and rubbed his thumb over her clit in strong circles to match the rhythm of his fingers. When he sucked hard at her pulse Shepard started to tremble, a litany of  _yes_  and  _please_  falling from her lips in a whisper.   
  
"That's it love." He encouraged, lips to her throat.   
  
She laughed at this as she came for the first time, fluttering around his fingers and shuddering under his hands and mouth.   
  
He shot her a cocky grin as he moved down her body, enjoying her frustrated groan in the face of his satisfaction.   
  
"Smug son of a bitch." She shot at him as he pulled her soaked underwear down and off and settled on his knees (ignoring their protestations) before hiking her legs up over his shoulders. Her heels dug into the muscles of his back for a momentary retaliation.   
  
"Is that any way to speak to the lucky bastard between your legs?"

Her eyes rolled heavenward at this, but damn if they didn't stay there when he parted her folds and sucked hard on her clit. Still sensitive, Shepard attempted to curl in on herself but Zaeed put a hand on her stomach to stop this, holding her steady. His teeth nipped at the bundle of nerves and she exhaled shakily, thighs tightening on either side of his head. He groaned at the strength in those muscles, memories of them squeezed around his chest as he thrust, hard and unrepentant, spurring his tongue and teeth on to bringing her another quick release.   
  
He’d had every intention of taking it his time, doing it right, to leave her utterly mindless with pleasure using all the knowledge he’d built from their years together. But the remembered images dancing through his mind would be enough to undo any man, let alone one listening to the sharp cries and feeling the shudders of the potential saviour of their known universe. He licked along her folds again, gathering the ever increasing wetness on his tongue but didn't fight when Shepard reached down and pulled him up her body, her legs falling down over his forearms as he moved. It left her spread deliciously wide and brought his clothed erection into contact with her heat. He grunted and dropped his head to her shoulder, feeling her laughter as faint vibrations through her body.   
  
"Can you feel me?"  
  
He groaned, biting down at her collarbone. "Like a goddamn furnace."   
  
"Then pants off, Massani." She instructed.   
  
Zaeed let her legs go to start working at his zipper and the second it was undone Shepard's feet hooked into the sides of his underwear to help force the both items down his legs. He shucked his clothing without moving too far from her, caught her legs back up and leant back over her with a haste that ensured she knew how turned on he was. His cock fit perfectly along the wet heat of her core and in that moment he was utterly helpless, rocking into her, taking only a fraction of what he needed.  
  
Shepard curled one hand behind his neck and tugged down until their lips met, her nails digging in over his Suns tattoo. The thought made him need her even more, and he canted his hips until he was pressed against her entrance, sliding inside with agonising slowness. Shepard bit down on his lip, dissatisfied with his pace but he wasn't intending to listen to her now. He wanted to savour this, every precious inch, as if it was the last time they'd get the chance.   
  
It damn well might be.  
  
He was half inside her when she whispered a plea in his ear, a calculated thing that had exactly her desired effect. Zaeed's hips jerked hard, filling her completely, burying himself within the heat and pulsing strength of her. She gasped a laugh of triumph, thighs flexing over his forearms as her muscles gripped him, rhythmically pulsing around him - but he'd be damned if he was going to give in to her now.  
  
He snarled and pressed his mouth to her throat, drawing out of her and moving back in, working them into a rhythm that sent heat racing up and down his spine, that made Shepard let out the sort of sounds that haunted his dreams and fuelled his imagination when they were apart. Her hands were clutching at him with a desperate want, a desire that made him goddamn proud even as he lost himself in her. Reducing this woman to a keening, urging creature of pure need was a hell of a thing.

His pace faltered as his pleasure grew and he let go of her legs, leaving his arms free to wind beneath her and his hands to grip her shoulders. Shepard purred her approval, legs wrapping around him, heels digging into his arse. Finally giving up on any pretense of taking it slow, Zaeed's thrusts turned unrelenting, the bed protesting a little beneath them.  
  
"Shoddy Cerberus build quality." He muttered between laboured intakes of air..  
  
Shepard laughed, delighted and equally breathless. "Only you would complain about that at a moment like this."  
  
He grumbled a non-reply as she guided his mouth back to hers, engaging him in a hungry kiss to match their thrusts, the eager way her hips met his. He used what little conscious thought he had left to switch up the angle of his hips and get the best reaction from the woman beneath him, spurring them both on to the end.  
  
It was with an odd unison and finality that they broke, Shepard toppling into her third orgasm being the catalyst for his own. She swallowed his groan of completion with a wide smile, arms strong around the broadness of his back.   
  
The need to breathe eventually became too much and Zaeed broke their kiss, lifting away enough to look down at her face. Her eyes looked brighter now, the dark rings less prominent. Her cheeks were flushed with a healthy pink as their panted breaths mingled and her lingering smile made the fierceness of her scars fade away.  
  
"Thank you." She murmured, pressing her palm to his cheek, her thumb rubbing over his lips.  
  
Zaeed simply nodded, rolling off of her and moving so he was laid the right way on the bed. She followed him of her own accord, hooking one leg over his and throwing an arm across his chest. Possessive almost… not that he minded.  
  
He could suggest she sleep, but he knew a lost cause when he saw it. Instead he wrapped an arm around her and waited, watching the stars fly past the cabin's windows.  
  


#

  
  
Shepard had been quiet for too long. Not that she was ever the most talkative of people after their times together - neither of them were much for bloody pillow talk - but when she was so deep in thought he started to get a little on edge.   
  
"You okay?" He asked, arm becoming a little firmer around her.  
  
She nodded. "Just thinking. Still doesn't seem real. There's so much we don't know."  
  
"You can be scared, y'know."  
  
She smiled up at him, a genuinely toothy, good natured thing. "I'm Commander Shepard. I don't  _get_  scared."  
  
He smirked. "And you've always been a goddamn terrible liar."  
  
The smile faltered a bit and her chin ducked, breaking their eye contact. "So many people are depending on me. It feels like I can't be selfish. And yet all I can think about is losing this." She said, tracing patterns over his chest. "Whatever  _this_  is."   
  
"Is what it's always been, love." Zaeed replied. A coward’s response maybe, but a truthful one. His lips found the top of her head and she sighed a little, moving closer.  
  
"It's been a long time since I've had something that's mine completely.” She said, voice a little distant, as if she was lost in her memory. “A lifetime ago, even."   
  
She fell silent again and he wondered whether her mind was fixing on the same ifs and maybes as his own. He wasn't one for introspection but if there was any time or reason to change that...   
  
"Got this little place lined up. By the water on Terra Nova. Got a dock, fresh air... maybe some fishing."  
  
He could feel the quirk of her lips against his skin. "And a special place for Jessie?"  
  
"Damn right." He smiled, hand smoothing up and down her side. "Planning on fixing it up properly when this shit is all over, assuming the Reaper bastards haven't flattened it."  
  
"Retirement, hmm?" She asked.  
  
"Doesn't sound like me huh?"  
  
"No, no it sounds perfect." She said quietly, her finger tapping over one of his scars, a little tick she'd had for years while her mind was racing, processing. "Retirement..."  
  
"I gonna see you there?" He asked, knowing she could feel the way his heart beat a little faster in anticipation of her answer, but finding it too goddamn difficult to care.  
  
She gave a soft laugh and rolled on top of him, folding her hands over his sternum and resting her chin on top. "Count on it Massani."


End file.
